The Illinois Supreme Court has denied a petition for leave to appeal filed by Republican gubernatorial candidate Joseph Severino, a Lake Forest businessman, and his running mate, Rantch Isquith, effectively ending their effort to overturn a ballot disqualification.
“It is ordered that the emergency motion for expedited consideration of the petition for leave to appeal is allowed. The petition for leave to appeal is denied,” the court ruled in a brief order filed Feb. 27.
The order noted that Illinois Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Rochford did not participate in the decision.
The case, Joseph Severino and Rantch Isquith v. The Illinois State Board of Elections, et al., arose after the State Officers Electoral Board removed the ticket from the Republican primary ballot on Jan. 16 for failing to submit enough valid petition signatures.
The board found the campaign submitted 4,748 valid signatures, 252 short of the 5,000 required, after reviewing more than 6,300 entries.
The ruling ends Severino’s appeals.
The high court’s order came after Severino and Isquith requested emergency action following adverse rulings in lower courts, including the Illinois Appellate Court, First District.
With the petition for leave to appeal denied, the electoral board’s ruling stands.
Although Severino will appear on a few ballots statewide, only votes for GOP gubernatorial candidates Ted Dabrowski, Darren Bailey, Rick Heidner, and James Mendrick will be counted.
Despite not being certified, Severino’s name will remain on ballots in four counties: Lake, Kane, McHenry, and Boone.
Dabrowski criticized the inconsistent handling of ballots across counties as evidence of systemic “chaos,” warning it could lead to voter disenfranchisement.
Clerks in the affected counties said they will post notices and rely on voters to stay informed.
Lake County Clerk Anthony Vega said that because the appeals process was not completed before early voting and ballots were printed, Severino will remain on his home county’s March 17 GOP primary ballot, but any votes he receives will be discarded.
“It is a really bad situation when it comes to these objections working their way through the court system, but this is kind of where we’re at,” Vega previously told the Lake County Gazette.
Boone County Clerk Amy Ohlsen said notices have been posted to warn that votes for Severino would not count if his disqualification is upheld.
“We were waiting for court dates for this one, but we also had certified our ballots very early at the end of January,” Ohlsen previously told the Rockford Sun.
McHenry County Clerk Joe Tirio said reprinting was impractical due to strict mailing deadlines and more than 1,800 ballot variations.
“We were confronted with a number of bad options and a deadline,” Tirio previously told the McHenry Times.
The Kane County Clerk’s Office did not respond to requests for comment, but it appears Severino’s name will stay on the ballot there.
Meanwhile, Ogle County Clerk Rebecca Duke reprinted ballots after initially leaving Severino’s name in place pending appeal. Duke said her office would reprint 21,000 ballots and reprogram voting machines following a Feb. 6 ruling that upheld his disqualification.
